Where Have All The Monarchs Gone?

The caterpillars are approximately 3-5 days old and range in size from .25 to .50 inches. They are feasting on native common milkweed leaves and are on public display at the front desk. As they mature they will be in a six foot tent in the classroom.

We are too early in summer for monarchs to be developing from eggs laid on our milkweeds. These caterpillars were purchased from Monarch Watch. These caterpillars are in their first of five instars. For each instar, the caterpillar molts, and usually eats the molted layer. Caterpillars, as in all insects, have their skeletons on the outside. These caterpillars will each eat about eighteen inches of milkweed over two weeks and then will metamorphose into a chrysalis. After about ten days a monarch butterfly will emerge and within a day be ready to fly.

Revel in a flower’s color and shape or in the twitter and flight of birds. at beauty of sight and sound in our gardens depends on something very small.

Insects. Bugs that move pollen from plant to plant.

The common milkweed boasts the largest leaves, but other species may be more welcome in your garden. The common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, grows into a gangly, five foot stalk. The more compact swamp milkweed, Asclepias incarnate, tops out at 2-4 feet and displays crowns of rosy purple flowers. The commonly-known butterfly weed, Asclepias tuberosa, is even smaller at the mature height of 1-3 feet. Thomas Jefferson favored this species, which sports orange or yellow flowers, for Monticello’s garden. All these native species support monarch butterflies, but the larger plants display more surface area for the caterpillars.

Pollinators.

One of those insects is in trouble. The population of the monarch butterfly, an insect that is itself a work of art, is in steep decline because there aren’t enough of the right plants growing in the right places.

Many butterflies can sip nectar from a variety of flowers, and their caterpillars happily munch different plants; not so with the monarch butterfly. This iconic black and orange beauty is monophagus — as a caterpillar, the larvae can eat only milkweed. That means the female monarch has to find milkweed leaves on which to deposit her eggs. No milkweed, no monarchs.

And it takes a village full of milkweed. A monarch can lay about 700 eggs over a few weeks, but each caterpillar needs more than six inches of plant to develop properly. That’s 350 feet of plant growth needed for a single butterfly’s egg-laying efforts.

That much milkweed isn’t out there anymore. Unfortunately, many gardeners consider milkweeds mere “weeds” unfit for a proper garden.

What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson, Fortune of the Republic, 1878

This is where you come in.

The main reason for the decline of the monarch butterfly is loss of habitat. You can make a natural difference by just planting milkweed seeds, and the Fairfax County Park Authority is working with conservation groups to make that easy for you. This spring, these park sites will be distributing free swamp milkweed seeds to visitors on request while supplies last:

Directions: Place your seeds in moist paper towels and refrigerate for four weeks. Check the bag regularly for signs of sprouting. Plant the newly-spouted seeds under ¼-inch of soil in full sun and water regularly. The milkweed should mature to its full size within a few years. It is well-behaved since it does not spread as dramatically as common milkweed.

There are 110 species of milkweed native to North America, however relatively few are native to Fairfax County. The name implies milk, but it actually derives from the leaves’ latex sap, which is distasteful to other animals because it contains toxic cardiac glycosides, compounds that can interfere with the workings of the heart. Monarchs store this compound in their wings and exoskeletons, which makes the insect noxious to predators.

Once established, milkweed can spread through its roots as well as seeds while sporting surprisingly beautiful flowers of orange, purple, pink or white that attract many other pollinators.

If you plant milkweed or butterfly weed, native pollinators will join the monarch butterflies in thanking you for protecting the monarch migration phenomenon across the eastern United States.

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About Fairfax County Park Authority

About Fairfax County Park Authority
HISTORY: On December 6, 1950, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors created the Fairfax County Park Authority. The Park Authority was authorized to make decisions concerning land acquisition, park development and operations in Fairfax County, Virginia. To date, 13 park bond referenda have been approved between 1959 and 2016. Today, the Park Authority has 427 parks on more than 23,000 acres of land. We offer 325 miles of trails, our most popular amenity.
FACILITIES: The Park system is the primary public mechanism in Fairfax County for the preservation of environmentally sensitive land and resources, areas of historic significance and the provision of recreational facilities and services including:
• Nine indoor RECenters with swimming pools, fitness rooms, gyms and class spaces. Cub Run features an indoor water park and on-site naturalist
• Eight golf courses from par-3 to championship level, four driving ranges including the new state-of-the-art heated, covered range at Burke Lake Golf Center
• Five nature and visitor centers. Also nine Off-Leash Dog Activity areas
• Three lakefront parks including Lake Fairfax, Lake Accotink and Burke Lake, with campgrounds at Burke Lake and Lake Fairfax. The Water Mine Family Swimmin’ Hole at Lake Fairfax, Our Special Harbor Sprayground at Lee as well as an indoor water park at Cub Run RECenter
• Clemyjontri Park, a fully accessible playground in Great Falls featuring two acres of family friendly fun and a carousel, as well as Chessie’s Big Backyard and a carousel at the Family Recreation Area at Lee District Park
• An ice skating rink at Mount Vernon RECenter and the Skate Park in Wakefield Park adjacent to Audrey Moore RECenter
• Kidwell Farm, a working farm of the 1930s-era at Frying Pan Farm Park in Herndon, now with historic carousel
• Eight distinctive historic properties available for rent
• A working grist mill at Colvin Run in Great Falls and a restored 18th century home at Sully Historic Site in Chantilly
• A horticulture center at Green Spring Gardens in Annandale
• Natural and cultural resources protected by the Natural Resource Management Plan and Cultural Resource Plans, plus an Invasive Management Area program that targets alien plants and utilizes volunteers in restoring native vegetation throughout our community
• Picnic shelters, tennis courts, miniature golf courses, disc golf courses, off-leash dog parks, amphitheaters, a marina, kayaking/canoeing center
• Provides 263 athletic fields, including 39 synthetic turf fields, and manages athletic field maintenance services at 417 school athletic fields.
PARK AUTHORITY BOARD: A 12-member citizen board, appointed by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, sets policies and priorities for the Fairfax County Park Authority.
Visit https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/news2/social-hub/ for Fairfax County Government's Comment Policy.